The Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has described the current crisis within the party as self-inflicted, but assured that the party’s forthcoming national convention in Ibadan, Oyo State, will proceed as scheduled.
The BoT Chairman and former Senate President, Adolphus Wabara, made this known on Thursday in Abuja during the presentation of the report of the BoT Reconciliation Committee.
Wabara said that despite internal disagreements, all major organs of the PDP — including the Governors’ Forum, National Working Committee (NWC), and the BoT — have unanimously agreed to go ahead with the convention.
“It is absolutely practicable for us to go to the convention,” Wabara affirmed. “All the organs of the party — the Governors’ Forum, the NWC, and the BoT — have agreed that we will proceed. Our last communiqué also reflected this decision.”
However, he emphasized that the party would respect any valid court order that might affect the event’s schedule.
“If the courts stop us, we are a law-abiding party. We will obey the law — or the last lawful order, as the case may be,” he said.
Addressing claims that the BoT’s intervention came too late, Wabara dismissed the criticism, saying the party’s current turmoil stemmed largely from internal divisions and personal ambitions.
“There is actually no major crisis. All these problems we have in the PDP are self-inflicted. In politics, it’s about interests — some people want the party to die now so they can resurrect it in 2031 for their own purposes,” he said pointedly.
Wabara reaffirmed the BoT’s commitment to unity and the survival of the party, pledging that all decisions taken by the board would be in the best interest of both the PDP and Nigerians.
“I’m not thinking of contesting for anything. Our only goal is to preserve the PDP as a people-centered party,” he added.
BoT Committee Submits Reconciliation Report
Earlier, the Chairman of the BoT Reconciliation Committee, Ambassador Hassan Adamu, said the committee began its work immediately after its inauguration on November 5, 2025, engaging key stakeholders to ensure a smooth and credible convention.
“We have spoken to various segments of our party — leaders, governors, and other stakeholders — and we have now come up with recommendations for a hitch-free convention. It has been a challenging assignment, but we have done our best,” Adamu stated.
Presenting the report, the Committee Secretary and former Chief of Staff to President Goodluck Jonathan, Mike Oghiadomhe, revealed that the panel held wide-ranging consultations with senior party figures, including the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, members of the Governors’ Forum, and the National Working Committee led by the Deputy National Chairman in the absence of Ambassador Umar Damagum.
“We also met with suspended national officers — including the National Secretary, Sam Anyanwu; the National Organising Secretary, Umar Bature; and the National Legal Adviser, Kamaldeen Ajibade — as well as former Senate President Bukola Saraki and other key stakeholders,” Oghiadomhe said.
He added that the committee’s recommendations provided “a clear roadmap for sustainable and effective party administration” at a critical moment for the PDP.
Six copies of the report, along with annexures and supporting documents, were formally submitted to the BoT for deliberation.
Factional Divide Deepens Ahead of Convention
Despite assurances of unity, the PDP convention faces uncertainty amid deepening divisions within the party’s national leadership.
Suspended national officers — Sam Anyanwu, Umar Bature, and Kamaldeen Ajibade — have reportedly aligned with Abdulrahman Mohammed to form a parallel faction, allegedly backed by FCT Minister Nyesom Wike.
Meanwhile, the Damagum-led NWC maintains the support of the PDP Governors’ Forum, the BoT, and other critical party organs, as it pushes ahead with preparations for the Ibadan convention where new national leaders are expected to emerge.
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